The Starry Tour of Yuki Nagato
by Howlitzer
Summary: Kyon and Yuki embark on a journey among the stars, surveying the wonders of the existence they live in.


"Ah…I wonder…"

I turned my head for a moment to look at the girl staring outside. She was always wondering things. Hm.

It was kind of weird that she was so sure of herself all of the time then. But really, I didn't try to _understand_ her all of the time. I had enough headaches as it was.

"Kyon."

"Yeah?"

"What would it be like to live in space?"

"Painful." I got up from my seat and walked over to the broom closet. Clubroom needed some sweeping today.

"Don't play dumb, you know what I mean. Like…if we could live on the planets in the Solar System, what would it all be like?"

"No clue."

"Don't you have any imagination?"

You have enough for us both.

"I suppose…but sometimes you can be quite dull, Kyon."

Hey, so I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. That just means less work for me.

"A bit of hard work never hurt anyone."

…I don't want to hear that coming from you of all people.

"Yuki, any thoughts?"

Yuki Nagato looked up from her book for a moment to reply. "The extremities of outer space make it impossible for humans to survive without any sort of protection. Even then, the variable conditions of said environment prevent truly secure operations beyond the Terran atmosphere."

Haruhi Suzumiya scratched her head at the statement. "So…you say space is dangerous?"

"Without the proper protective measures, space is inhabitable and space travel becomes impossible."

Haruhi nodded sagely. "I see. That's a good point…"

Well, I only caught half of that, but…I'm pretty sure I can agree that space is dangerous. Interesting, but dangerous.

"We should not let a fear of the unknown stop us from exploring…at least that is my belief," Itsuki Koizumi said. Of course, this guy is the type that doesn't know when to shut his mouth and not give certain people ideas…

"That's right! I couldn't agree more. In fact, this will be a future project for the SOS Brigade. Space travel will be popular in the future, so we need to stay ahead of the curve!"

What curve?

"They already have rich billionaires booking space flights, you know? Even so, we'll have many chances to get ourselves in the game."

So rich guys want to fly into space. What does that have to with us?

"We'll have Brigade branches on the Moon. That should be a great way to draw more recruits. Think of it, we won't just be changing the world, we'll be changing the universe itself! The Moon is just the first step! Mikuru!"

"Yes?" Mikuru Asahina, our lovable mascot, peeked out from the kitchen where she was making everyone tea. She had her usual maid outfit on…one could never get tired of a sight like that.

"You'll have to undergo intensive training for this mission, understood?"

"Wah…what kind of mission?"

"The tea, the tea! Serving tea on the Moon will take considerable skill, you know."

"O-of course…I'll do my best!" She gave our leader a salute.

I wondered what my role was in this insane plan of Haruhi's.

"Kyon, of course, will be the one scouting land for our bases."

"What? Why me?"

"Well, _I _can't go and risk my neck in the great beyond like that. I'm the Supreme Commander, aren't I? However, you'll have to go through intense training to become an astronaut. Don't let me down, now."

Why are you under the impression I'm agreeing to this?

"I wasn't aware you had a choice in the matter."

I sighed. I should have figured…

* * *

Our day was over a good while later, after milling about like we usually did. Yuki Nagato closed her book, which had somehow become the official signal for our departure.

I got my stuff together and made my way out.

"Do you want to know?"

I stopped and turned to the voice. Oh, it was Nagato.

"Know what?" We were now alone in the hallway outside of the clubroom.

"Do you want to know about the worlds beyond ours?"

"Well, I could always pick up a book, I suppose. But learning from you would be fine as well, Nagato."

She looked at me with her usual poker-faced appearance…but there was something else there. Most people wouldn't notice this in a…well, I guess person like Yuki Nagato, but after spending so much time with her, I could notice the subtleties in her expressions.

Right now, there was something…a strange sparkle in her eyes, and if I didn't know any better, it looked a lot like excitement of some sort. That wasn't possible for her, was it?

She gently took my hand.

"If you require it…I can show you. You would be able to see those things with your own eyes."

"Nagato…"

"I will provide you with the necessary equipment."

"What-!" Before I could fully object, she smoothly grabbed my wrist and sunk her teeth into it. No matter how many times she did this, it still seemed so weird…

And as usual, before I knew it she was finished. Just what had she injected into me this time, though?

"Do you still wish to participate?"

This was getting strange. Nagato was saying she was going to show me outer space, but how was that possible? My eyes must be playing tricks on me, too…because she seems eager to do this, right now.

To add to that, she just installed more of those nanomachines inside of me.

Despite all of that, I felt curious about all of this. Nagato could do so many things like this on her own, yet she asked me to come. Maybe she wanted a friend? It could be a lonely journey.

I guess…maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go on a trip.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go, Nagato."

She gave one of her subtle nods, and led me outside. From there, she started chanting while still holding on to one of my hands.

"Gravitational bound…release."

Huh. Maybe it was the nanomachines, but I felt like I was floating, and the ground was getting further and further away. Nagato was rising higher in the sky…wait…

"N-no…no way…" I gasped.

We were floating. We were floating above the ground.

What the hell.

"Anti-gravitation lane stable…activated. Launch start…"

We started to float back down just the same way we rose, Nagato hitting the ground first. She bent her knees, and then reached out and grabbed hold of my belt.

"Nagato?"

That familiar, impassive expression greeted me as I started to wonder what exactly the hell I had gotten myself into. It was as if I couldn't hear her speak for a moment, but I could read her lips clearly.

"Liftoff."

She shot up like a rocket…I figured that she was taking the place of one for the moment.

We soared higher and higher, bursting through the layers of clouds until we reached the top of Earth's atmosphere.

We had begun our journey to the great beyond.


End file.
